It's part of his budget proposal released Tuesday. The move would save $49 billion in his broader plan to get rid of federal deficits by 2023. Ryan takes further aim at federal workers by proposing they pay more toward their pensions, saving another $132 billion in 10 years.

(CNN) - As cardinals gather at the Vatican to elect a new pope, President Barack Obama said he believes U.S. politics wouldn't stand in the way of an American pope doing his job.

"It seems to me that an American pope would preside just as effectively as a Polish pope or an Italian pope or a Guatemalan pope," the president said in an interview that aired Wednesday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."FULL POST

Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers may have to wait an extra six weeks to receive their tax refunds due to filing errors, the IRS said Tuesday. The IRS said 10%, or more than 600,000, of the 6.6 million returns claiming education credits it has received so far this tax season were improperly filed by tax software providers. As a result, those refunds could be delayed for as long as six weeks.

The questions go to the heart of the issue, presenting scenarios some may find challenging. The Boy Scouts of America, now considering a change in the group's longstanding policy against allowing openly gay members, has sent out a questionnaire that goes beyond a simple yes or no on the subject. Among them: Is it acceptable for a gay scout and a straight scout to share a tent on an overnight camping trip?